Humans have five senses (or some might say more) that they rely on as they navigate their world. Sight. Hearing. Touch. Smell. Taste. But many folks have lost…or never had…the use of one or more of those senses. I was always very nearsighted and now, because of other eye issues and surgeries, my vision is compromised…and I often lean on my other senses to provide me with the information I need to stay safe and get me where I need to go…without tripping over the dog or leaving the pie in the oven too long. And so, when I heard about this brand new book called: I HEAR THE SNOW, I SMELL THE SEA…I knew I’d want to share that with you. It’s written by Jan Milusich and illustrated by Chris Raschka and it launches from Anne Schwartz Books TODAY! HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY!!!!!

The cover…just so very engaging for young children, don’t you think? And lucky for us, author Jan agreed to stop by to share a little bit about the story and how she came to write it.
ME: Welcome, Jan! Thank you so much for coming over to Picture Books Help Kids Soar. Can you share a little bit about the story and also how and why you wrote it?

JAN: Thank you for having me, Vivian. It’s a joy to see this book ready to fly onto bookshelves and into the hands of the children who will enjoy it.
Here’s a short summary from the Amazon sales page:
In this lyrical picture book illustrated by a two-time Caldecott Medalist, share in a blind child’s joyful experience of the changing seasons.

Where I live, seasons change. I know because my fingers and toes, my ears, my mouth and nose, all tell me so.

Neveah is blind, but that doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy each of the four wondrous seasons of the year.

She knows it’s winter when her boots go scruuunch in the snow and cold flakes land softly on her tongue.

She knows spring has come by the smell of hyacinths, the bzzzz of a bee in her ear.

Summer is a trip to the beach, where she can hear the crash of ocean waves and the keowww of seagulls overhead.

And when Neveah’s rake goes scritch scratch over fallen leaves and the air turns brisk, she knows it’s autumn. Soon the cycle of seasons will begin anew.

In this poetic story with art by a two-time Caldecott Medalist, join Neveah as she uses her senses of touch, taste, hearing, and smell to vividly describe the changing seasons and the unique delights they each have to offer.

And here’s the story behind the story…the how and why I wrote it:

My inspiration for I Hear the Snow, I Smell the Sea came from my students, past and present.

The idea for this story originated from our daily sessions together exploring the world (their classroom, school setting, and playground) from varying perspectives, using all of their available senses.

For example, a chair, whatever the type, explored while seated is a completely different chair when it is found upside down, on top of a table, or knocked over on its side. Without a visual snapshot to identify its “chair-ness”, no matter the position, my low-vision and blind students need to explore the chair, or any object, in differing presentations to gain a greater understanding of its concept as a whole.

Inspiration also came via one of my former students, who is blind and who now works in IT and is also a writer and poet. She was at first a sensitivity reader for me and later, when I was asked to change the story’s POV from third person to first, she became a valued consultant. Concerned about the POV change, as I am sighted, her support of my writing the story as an experienced teacher for the visually impaired buoyed and encouraged me to continue the pursuit of its publication. 

It’s my hope that in I Hear the Snow, I Smell the Sea children with visual impairments and blindness will find themselves represented in a way that empowers their understanding of the world, that sighted children will gain an appreciation of the capabilities and competencies of their low vision or blind peers, and that all who read this story will come away with a greater appreciation of what the senses of touch, taste, hearing and smell have to offer to our awareness of our environment and the world around us.

ME: I LOVE THIS, JAN! This is a much needed book, for sure! I hope everyone does what they can to help the book become a success.
Dear friends…you can:
Buy the book
Review the book
Tell friends about the book (Please share the post on your social media)
Ask local libraries to purchase copies for their collection

And here’s a little bit about the author and the illustrator::

Janice Milusich is a teacher for the visually impaired and blind, currently working with preschool students. She is the author of the Cleo’s Big Ideas chapter book series published by Eifrig Publishing and has had her work published in the Cricket Media magazines, Spider and Muse. Janice lives on Long Island, NY.
To order the book and learn more about Jan:
I Hear the Snow, I Smell the Sea 
Available for pre-order!
Janmilusich.com Books Author Visits

Chris Raschka is a multi-award-winning author/illustrator of over seventy books for children. Named “one of the most original illustrators at work today” by Publishers Weekly, Raschka has won two Caldecott Medals (for A Ball for Daisy and The Hello, Goodbye Window), as well as a Caldecott Honor Award for Yo? Yes! His titles also include Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle and Daisy Gets Lost, both of which received numerous starred reviews; Mary’s Idea, which was named a 2023 New York Times Best Illustrated Book; and The Blue Table. He lives in New York City.

Thank you all for spending your precious time with us…I hope you all have a wonderful week! And I hope I didn’t confuse everyone by posting this last week and then pulling it back when I realized the book birthday was today, not last week.